This page contains timelines from Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, and Station 19. All time references in the shows are listed, but those who are chronologically incorrect, are marked with a footnote (with an explanation of why it's wrong at the bottom of the page).
Pre-Show[]
- Vivian Carlsmith was born in 1938 or 1939.
- Seattle Grace Hospital was established in 1947.
- Catherine Fox was born in 1952 or 1953.
- Ellis Grey was born on August 6, 1953.
- Richard Webber was born in 1953 or 1954.
- Vivian Carlsmith gave birth to a baby she was forced to give up in 1954.
- Pruitt Herrera was born in 1955 or 1956.
- Sheldon Wallace was born in 1957.
- Derek Shepherd was born in 1966.
- Addison Forbes Montgomery was born in 1967.
- Mark Sloan was born in 1968.
- Lucas Ripley was born on November 15, 1975.
- Adele Webber married Richard Webber at 25, in 1978 or 1979.
- Meredith Grey was born in 1978.
- Owen Hunt was born in 1978 .
- George O'Malley was born in 1980.
- Izzie Stevens was born in 1980 or 1981.
- Megan Hunt was born in 1981.
- April Kepner was born on April 23, 1982.
- Ellis Grey was nominated for a Harper Avery Award for the first time and attempted suicide in the spring of 1983.
- Maggie Pierce was born and placed for adoption in 1983.
- Lexie Grey was born in 1984.
- Heather Parker was born in 1984.
- Dell Parker was born in 1986.
- Leah Murphy was born in 1987.
- Andrew DeLuca was born in 1987.
- Ellis Grey won her first Harper Avery Award in 1988.
- Dean Miller was born in 1988.
- Andy Herrera was born in 1988 or 1989.
- Ryan Tanner was born in 1988 or 1989.
- Addison Forbes Montgomery and Derek Shepherd got married in 1994.
- Alex Karev was in high school in 1994. ("Old Scars, Future Hearts")
- Simone Griffith was born on October 19, 1995. ("Wasn't Expecting That")
- Preston Burke was a cardiothoracic surgical fellow at Seattle Grace Hospital in 1999.[1]
- Anna Wilder died at the age of 40 in 2001.
- Naomi and Sam Bennett opened Oceanside Wellness Group in 2001.
- Allison Robin Brown died on September 11, 2001.
- Miranda Bailey began her surgical internship in 2003.
- Jo Wilson is in high school in 2003. ("Old Scars, Future Hearts")
- Richard Webber won a plaque for "best doctors in America" in 2004.
- Megan Hunt was kidnapped in Iraq in 2007.
- Season One begins possibly in 2004[2]or 2006.[3]
- Michael Cooper Williams died in 2016.
Grey's Anatomy Season 1[]
- Seasons 1-3 take up a year and is reflected in the summer and autumnal weather of Season 1.
- Seasons 1-3, Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, George, and Alex are 1st year surgical interns and in the first year of their surgical residency.
- Bailey is in her fourth year of surgical residency, as confirmed later in Season 3.
- A Hard Day's Night takes place on July 1 to 3, as the intern's 48 hour shift starts in the morning July 1. The new interns always start on that date.
- The first season roughly spans 2 months according to Enough is Enough.
- Derek moved to Seattle 6 weeks before the second episode.
- The Dead Baby Bike Race is a real event that takes place in August, putting Winning a Battle, Losing the War in August.
- Winning a Battle, Losing the War shows a blood donation sign with the date January 8, 2004.
- Chief Webber remarks Stephanie Drake's towel has been in her for five years, from her 1999 operation, putting Shake Your Groove Thing in the year 2004. But paperwork shown during Cristina's research states the surgery occurred in 2000.[1]
- The First Cut Is the Deepest finished roughly at 6pm.
- The First Cut Is the Deepest lasts about 2 days.
Grey's Anatomy Season 2[]
- Seasons 1-3 take up a year and is reflected in the winter like weather and mention of holidays of Season 2.
- Seasons 1-3, Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, George, and Alex are 1st year surgical interns and in the first year of their surgical residency.
- Bailey is in her fourth year of surgical residency, as confirmed later in Season 3.[4]
- Torres is also in her fourth year of residency, but in her third year of ortho residency, as confirmed later in Season 6 by The Time Warp.
- Season 2 starts minutes after season 1.
- Season 2 takes place over Fall and Winter/Spring the following year.
- Joe has owned the Emerald City Bar for more than 14 years as of Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head.
- Enough is Enough takes place one day after Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head. Meredith also states she has known Derek for two months, making the month they're in September.
- Make Me Lose Control takes place one week after Enough is Enough.
- When Cristina had her surgery for ectopic pregnancy the OR Board said she was 28.
- Let It Be runs in parallel with Callie's flashbacks from The Time Warp.
- Miranda Bailey announces her first pregnancy in Let It Be and gives birth in As We Know It. The inception of her nine month pregnancy is not stated.[5]
- Derek Shepherd has been married to Addison Montgomery-Shepherd for 11 years, including 11 Christmases, birthdays, and Thanksgivings as of Bring the Pain.
- Richard Webber and Ellis Grey discussed leaving their spouses 21 years ago as of Bring the Pain.
- Thanks for the Memories takes place on November 23.
- Owner of a Lonely Heart takes place a few hours after Much too Much.
- Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer takes place on December 25.
- Begin the Begin takes place in early January.
- Break on Through takes place 10 days after Tell Me Sweet Little Lies.
- Izzie Stevens was 27 years old in Break on Through.
- It's the End of the World and As We Know It, respectively, are direct continuations of each other. They take place two weeks after Tell Me Sweet Little Lies, and thereby 4 days after Break on Through.
- Molly Grey-Thompson is 22 in The Name of the Game. She is 32 weeks pregnant with Laura Grey-Thompson.
- Denny Duquette died on May 14, 2006 at 7:42 PM in Losing My Religion.
Grey's Anatomy Season 3[]
- Seasons 1-3 take up a year and is reflected in the spring and summer like weather of Season 3.
- Seasons 1-3, Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, George, and Alex are 1st year surgical interns and in the first year of their surgical residency.
- Bailey and Heron are in their fourth year of surgical residency. Torres is also in her fourth year of residency, but in her third year of ortho residency, as confirmed later in Season 6 by The Time Warp.
- Six Days, Part 2 takes place one day after Six Days, Part 1. The two episodes together span six days.
- Don't Stand So Close to Me takes place four weeks after The Name of the Game as Molly goes into labor 36 weeks pregnant. Laura Grey-Thompson is born.
- Callie puts Izzie on "Georgewatch 2007" in Great Expectations, indicating the year the episode takes place.[6]
- The time between Great Expectations and Wishin' and Hopin' is roughly 8 days.
- Walk on Water, Drowning on Dry Land and Some Kind of Miracle, respectively, are direct continuations of each other.
- Larry Jennings was admitted to Seattle Grace in Desire, shortly before May 18, 2007.
- Testing 1-2-3 takes place approximately two weeks after Desire, so around June 1, 2007.
- Didn't We Almost Have It All? takes place one day after Testing 1-2-3, around June 2, 2007. (This is inconsistent with the timeline as stated in A Change is Gonna Come, which would put Didn't We Almost Have It All? on June 13 or 14.)
- Addison is 39 in the season 3 finale.
Grey's Anatomy Season 4[]
- Seasons 4-5 make up a year.
- Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, and Alex are in their second year of their surgical residency.
- George is re-doing his 1st year as a surgical intern after failing his exams.
- Bailey is in her fifth year of surgical residency. Torres is also in her fifth year of residency, but in her fourth and final year of ortho residency.
- Lexie is in her first year of a surgical residency.
- There is a 17 day gap between season 3 and 4.
- A Change is Gonna Come takes place on July 1 (the first day for new interns).
- Haunt You Every Day takes place on October 31, as it is Halloween.
- Lay Your Hands on Me takes place the day after Crash Into Me, Part 1 and Crash Into Me, Part 2.
- There is a five week gap between Lay Your Hands on Me and Where the Wild Things Are. (Many episode descriptions state that it has been six weeks, but Meredith Grey tells Dr. Wyatt that it has been five weeks since she and Derek broke up.)
- There is a one month gap between Where the Wild Things Are and Piece of My Heart.
- The Becoming takes place in 2008. The Harper Avery Award article states the Preston Burke won the 2008 Harper Avery Award, which is in this episode.
Grey's Anatomy Season 5[]
- Seasons 4-5 make up a year.
- Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, George, and Alex are in their second year of their surgical residency.
- Bailey is in her fifth year of surgical residency. Torres is also in her fifth year of residency, but in her fourth and final year of ortho residency.
- Lexie is in her first year of residency.
- Dream a Little Dream of Me, Part 1 took place from roughly 4:15pm.
- Dream a Little Dream of Me, Part 2 finished roughly at 2:30am.
- There's No 'I' in Team takes place in October.
- Life During Wartime takes place a week after There's No 'I' in Team.
- In the Midnight Hour spans one night/early morning.
- Lexie is 24 in Season 5.
- Izzie turns 29 in Wish You Were Here. Her age is confirmed by Lexie in I Will Follow You Into the Dark.
- Wish You Were Here, Sympathy for the Devil, and Stairway to Heaven, respectively, are direct continuations of each other. They take place not too long before Valentine's Day, thus February 14, 2009.
- The Grey's Anatomy episode Beat Your Heart Out runs in parallel with the Private Practice episode Acceptance. It starts off about four days after Stairway to Heaven since Bailey returns to work after having taken three days off.
- Beat Your Heart Out/Acceptance, Before and After, Ex-Life, and An Honest Mistake, respectively, are direct continuations of each other.
- I Will Follow You Into the Dark starts off four days after An Honest Mistake. Mark hasn't operated in three days while Derek has been on the couch for three days.
- Elevator Love Letter takes place around March 26, 2009.
- What a Difference a Day Makes takes place on May 14, 2009.
- When Izzie wakes up in Now or Never, she claims it is 2009.
- Elevator Love Letter takes place in April 2006. ("I Choose You")
- George dies June 10 or June 11, 2009 as Bailey is an attending 21 days after his death, and Lexie mentions she becomes a resident the next day. In Beat Your Heart Out, it is established that a residency (and thereby attending as well) year begins July 1 of the current year and ends on June 30 the following year.
Grey's Anatomy Season 6[]
- Good Mourning takes place within minutes of the season 5 finale.
- The events of Good Mourning and Goodbye take place over forty days, starting with the day of George's death (from Jun 10 or 11 to Jul 20 or 21, 2009).
- Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, and Alex are in their third year of their surgical residency.
- The Mercy West residents (i.e. Jackson, April, Charles, and Reed) are also in their third year.
- Bailey and Torres are first year attending surgeons in general and ortho surgery, respectively.
- Lexie and her class are in their second year of surgical residency.
- Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital was established in 2009.
- Tainted Obligation takes place around six months after Elevator Love Letter when Izzie first became a patient.
- Invasion is the first part of Private Practice's Right Here, Right Now.
- I Saw What I Saw takes place at least one week after Invasion as the Mercy West residents no longer wear orange scrubs.
- New History takes place one month after Tainted Obligation as Meredith has returned to work after being on bedrest for a liver transplant.
- Holidaze spans five weeks, starting on November 25, 2009 and ending on January 1, 2010.
- Blink is the first part of the Private Practice's Another Second Chance.
- Meredith recalls her love triangle with Addison and Derek occurring two years ago in I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked.
- Valentine's Day Massacre takes place on February 14, 2010.
- Callie's flashbacks in The Time Warp run in parallel with Let It Be according to the official Grey's Anatomy podcast.
- Divorce papers sent by Izzie show a date of birth (Izzie or Alex's) being May 1st, 1980.[7]
- April is 28 as of Death and All His Friends.
- Sanctuary and Death and All His Friends take place on a Wednesday[8] sometime after April 23 (April's 28th birthday) and before July 1, 2010 (start of a new residency year).
Grey's Anatomy Season 7[]
- Meredith, Cristina, Alex, Jackson, and April are in their fourth year of their surgical residency.
- Lexie is in her third year of surgical residency.
- With You I'm Born Again takes place 2 months after season 6 finale.
- Superfreak starts 2 weeks after Cristina has a breakdown in the OR in Shock to the System.
- These Arms of Mine spans about a month. According to security camera footage of Lexie, it begins around September 13, 2010, as seen on a security camera image. Thereby, the episode ends in mid-October. Additionally, the documentary also gives information about events that took place within the week after the last images that were shot.
- Adrift and at Peace and Disarm take place around Christmas, thus December 25, 2010.
- Disarm takes place the morning after Adrift and at Peace and six months after Sanctuary and Death and All His Friends.
- Lexie is 26 in That's Me Trying. Later, she has already turned 27 as of P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing). Thus, her birthday occurs off-screen between these episodes and the latter episode is set in 2011.
- Golden Hour takes place on February 17.
- Not Responsible takes place a few weeks after Golden Hour.
- Bailey says she has been an attending for approximately one year as of Not Responsible.[9]
- This is How We Do It takes place one month after Not Responsible, and according to the dates shown in It's a Long Way Back somewhere early in March.
- Song Beneath the Song takes place in May 2011.
- Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres was born in May 2011.
- Private Practice's The Hardest Part runs parallel to Song Beneath the Song.
- It's a Long Way Back spans 11 weeks, from Sofia Torres's first week of life to her twelfth. The first day in the episode is March 11, 2011. Four weeks and two days later, the monitor displays March 4, 2011.[10][11]
- White Wedding takes place 3 months after Song Beneath the Song, and about 1 week after It's a Long Way Back.
Grey's Anatomy Season 8[]
- Meredith, Cristina, Alex, Jackson, and April are in their fifth year of their surgical residency.
- Lexie is in her fourth year of surgical residency.
- Free Falling and She's Gone take place on July 1, 2011, as it's the first day of the fifth year for Meredith and her fellow residents.
- Poker Face spans 3 days.
- Heart-Shaped Box, Dark Was the Night, and Suddenly, respectively, are direct continuations of each other. They take place around January 14, as Teddy mentions in All You Need is Love (which takes place a month after these episodes) that Henry died one month ago.
- Suddenly takes place on November 1, 2011.[12]
- This Magic Moment takes place two weeks after Suddenly.
- Hope for the Hopeless takes place four months after She's Gone, and thus somewhere in November 2011.
- All You Need is Love takes place on February 14, 2012, as it is Valentine's Day.
- Have You Seen Me Lately? is part one of Private Practice's You Break My Heart.
- The Lion Sleeps Tonight takes place one week after One Step Too Far.
- Support System takes place a few weeks after The Lion Sleeps Tonight, and the flashbacks shown in the episode take place one day after Have You Seen Me Lately?.
- Zola is one year and three months as of If Only You Were Lonely.
- Tuck is 5 as of If Only You Were Lonely.
- Moment of Truth takes place on May 4, 2012 and May 5, 2012. [13]
- Let the Bad Times Roll takes place on May 5, 2012.
- Migration takes place three days after Let the Bad Times Roll.
- Tatiana Flauto is admitted to the hospital on May 2012.
- The plane crash takes place on mid-May.
- Lexie Grey dies in May 2012.
Grey's Anatomy Season 9[]
- Meredith, Cristina, Alex, Jackson, and April have completed their residencies, with Meredith and April becoming surgical attendings in general and trauma, respectively, and Cristina, Alex, and Jackson becoming surgical fellows in cardio, peds, and plastics, respectively.
- Jo, Shane, Stephanie, Leah, and Heather are in their first year of surgical residency.
- Going, Going, Gone runs parallel with Private Practice's Mourning Sickness.
- Mark Sloan dies in 2012.
- Some of Remember the Time takes place on August 1, 2012.
- Love the One You're With spans three days.
- I Was Made for Lovin' You takes place on December 10, 2012.
- Run, Baby, Run takes place five months after Remember the Time and a couple of days after Love Turns You Upside Down.
- Things We Said Today is a direct continuation of Run, Baby, Run.
- The End is the Beginning is the End takes place one month after Things We Said Today.
- Hard Bargain takes place one week after Bad Blood.
- This is Why We Fight takes place one week after Hard Bargain.
- Idle Hands takes place 25 weeks after I Was Made for Lovin' You, as Meredith has been pregnant for 28 weeks.
- Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital was established in 2013.
- Do You Believe in Magic takes place on May 1, 2013.
- Readiness is All directly follows after Do You Believe in Magic, so it takes place on May 1 and 2, 2013.
- Perfect Storm is a direct continuation of Readiness is All.
Grey's Anatomy Season 10[]
- The season 10 premiere immediately follows the season 9 finale.
- Everybody's Crying Mercy takes place about one week after I Want You With Me, which is sometime in mid to late June as April has already taken her boards and waiting for the results, and the interns are studying for their intern exam.
- Map of You takes place about one week after I Bet It Stung, which would be on or around July 1, 2013 as Jo, Leah, Stephanie, and Shane have just passed their intern exam and been issued their embroidered lab coats making them second year residents. According to Arizona's text from Leah, the intern exam occurred two days before this episode.
- As of Map of You, Meredith and April are in their second year as surgical attendings in general and trauma, respectively; Cristina, Alex, and Jackson are in their second and final year as surgical fellows in cardio, peds, and plastics, respectively.
- Thriller takes place on October 31, 2013. [14]
- Heather Brooks died three months before Halloween.[15]
- Stephanie Edwards underwent corrective eye surgery 16 hours prior to Halloween.
- Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word spans five months, showcasing flashbacks from before Readiness is All to after Thriller.
- Callie is 38 as of Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word.
- Somebody That I Used to Know takes place a few days after Two Against One and around November 21, 2013, as it takes place about a week before Thanksgiving.
- Man on the Moon takes place less than three months after Puttin' on the Ritz.[16]
- Get Up, Stand Up takes place in 2013, as shown on the butterfly boxes at the wedding.
- The beginning of Take It Back is a direct continuation of Get Up, Stand Up. The rest of the episode takes place three weeks later.
- You Be Illin' takes place in April 2014, as shown on a behind the scenes photo of a used prop.
- I'm Winning takes place two weeks after You Be Illin'.
- The Harper Avery Award banquet 2014 will be performed in mid-April 2014.
- According to on-screen documents and several monitors, Change of Heart takes place on March 19, 2014. [17]
- We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together takes place partially on April 26, 2014 and mainly on May 1, 2014, the air date of the episode.
- Fear (of the Unknown) takes place at least two weeks after Everything I Try to Do, Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right.
Grey's Anatomy Season 11[]
- Jo, Stephanie, and Ben are in their third year of their surgical residency; She's Leaving Home is set during their fourth year, and in Time Stops, they begin their fifth year.
- Meredith and April are in their third year as surgical attendings in general and trauma, respectively; She's Leaving Home is set during their fourth year, and in Time Stops, they begin their fifth year.
- As of I Must Have Lost It on the Wind, Alex and Jackson have completed their fellowships, and are in their first year as surgical attendings in peds, and plastics/ENT, respectively; She's Leaving Home is set during their second year, and in Time Stops, they begin their third year as surgical attendings in their respective specialities.
- Got to Be Real takes place one week after Fear (of the Unknown).
- Only Mama Knows starts the day after Got to Be Real and about a month after Everything I Try to Do, Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right.
- Bend & Break spans more than 5 weeks.
- Don't Let's Start takes place two months after Fear (of the Unknown).
- Could We Start Again, Please? starts the day after Don't Let's Start.
- Risk takes place on November 13, 2014.
- Where Do We Go From Here takes place on November 14, 2014.
- The Bed's Too Big Without You takes place three months after Fear (of the Unknown), thus a month after Don't Let's Start.
- Samuel Norbert Avery was born and died in winter of 2015.
- The Great Pretender takes place within a week after All I Could Do Was Cry.
- Staring at the End spans 4 weeks.
- The Distance starts on March 2, 2015 and spans a couple of days.
- Don't Dream It's Over starts shortly after I Feel the Earth Move.
- The flashbacks shown in One Flight Down take place shortly before the start of Crazy Love.
- How to Save a Life takes place and Derek dies on March 26, 2015[18] or April 23, 2015.[19]
- She's Leaving Home runs from March or April 2015 to February 2016. During this time, Meredith, Alex, Miranda, April, and Jackson obtain their F.A.C.S. designation.
- Ellis Shepherd was born in January 2016.
- Since in the episode Time Stops a new group of interns starts their residency at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, the episode is supposed to take place on July 1, 2016.
- Richard and Catherine got married in July 2016.
Grey's Anatomy Season 12[]
- Sledgehammer takes place in early October, three months after Richard and Catherine's wedding.
- Andrew, Isaac, Hannah and Mitchell are in their first year of their surgical residency.
- Penny is in her third year and Jo, Stephanie and Ben are in their fifth year of their surgical residency.
- Meredith and April are in their fifth year as surgical attendings in general and trauma, respectively.
- Alex and Jackson are in their third year as surgical attendings in peds, and plastics/ENT, respectively.
- Bailey was named Chief of Surgery in October 2016, becoming the first female in the hospital to get it.
- I Choose You takes place one week after Walking Tall, and spans a couple of days, ending on October 13th; Meredith is appointed Head of General Surgery during this period.
- Old Time Rock and Roll takes place on October 14th and starts one day after I Choose You.
- Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a direct continuation of Old Time Rock and Roll.
- Penny transfers her surgical residency mid-[residency] year to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital the immediate Monday following Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
- Things We Lost in the Fire takes place three days after Something Against You.
- The Sound of Silence spans an unspecified amount of weeks, at least six weeks.
- My Next Life takes place thirty days after The Sound of Silence.
- Odd Man Out takes place three weeks after My Next Life. April is 12 weeks pregnant.
- I Am Not Waiting Anymore is a direct continuation of Odd Man Out, starting hours before midnight.
- On When It Hurts So Bad, Derek is dead for 2 years, so it takes place at least in March 2017.
- It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) takes place the day after There's a Fine, Fine Line and spans two days.
- You're Gonna Need Someone on Your Side takes place six weeks after I Wear the Face. April is 24 weeks pregnant.
- Sofia is 6 as of Mama Tried, which spans a couple of days.
- At Last takes place three days after Mama Tried.
- Family Affair takes place around four months after It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) and spans one day.
- Harriet Kepner-Avery was born in mid-2017.
- Owen and Amelia's wedding takes place in mid-2017.
Grey's Anatomy Season 13[]
- Season 13 takes place mid to late-2017, immediately after the end of Season 12.
- Jo, Stephanie, and Ben are in their fifth year of surgical residency.
- Andrew and his class are in their first year of surgical residency.
- Undo takes place a few hours after Family Affair, in the same day of the latter.
- Catastrophe and the Cure takes place at least a few days after Undo, as Maggie and Meredith talk about Maggie having dreamt about Nathan for the third time this week.
- Both Sides Now supposedly takes place in on October 29, 2016 as seen on a tablet.[20] It also takes place 2 months after Family Affair.
- Leah Murphy got hired by Richard Webber are also in her fifth year of the surgical residency.
- Roar takes place the next morning after Both Sides Now.
- You Can Look (But You'd Better Not Touch) immediately follows You Haven't Done Nothin' and spans one night.
- Jukebox Hero takes place the next day after You Can Look (But You'd Better Not Touch), as Arizona says to Maggie she was in the Tri-County Hospital the night before.
- None of Your Business starts minutes after Jukebox Hero.
- It Only Gets Much Worse takes place the next day after None of Your Business.
- Who Is He (And What Is He To You)? spans two days.
- In the Air Tonight spans one night and takes place on 13th day of the respective month.
- Don't Stop Me Now takes place a little more than 4 months after Roar as Veronica Kays is now 34 weeks pregnant versus 16 weeks at her first appearance.
- Leave It Inside, True Colors and Ring of Fire are direct continuations of each other.
- Megan Hunt was found after being missing for ten years.
Grey's Anatomy Season 14[]
- Season 14 starts on or around mid to late-2017, immediately after the end of Season 13.
- Jo and Ben are in their fifth year of their surgical residency.
- Levi, Dahlia, Vikram, Casey, Sam, and Taryn are in their first year of their surgical residency.
- Since Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story, Andrew is in his second year of his surgical residency (according to his lab coat).
- Break Down the House takes place the next morning after Ring of Fire.
- Go Big or Go Home takes place one week after Get Off on the Pain.
- Ain't That a Kick in the Head spans five days.
- Harper Avery dies in mid-2017.
- The present time where Danger Zone takes place is summer of 2017.
- Come on Down to My Boat, Baby takes place two months after Break Down the House, around the beginning of July 2017, as a new group of interns starts their residency at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
- Sofia is 7 as of Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story, which takes place one week after Come on Down to My Boat, Baby and two weeks after the start of the new residency year, meaning the episode takes place in mid-July.
- Meredith wins her first Catherine Fox Award in July 2017.
- As of Out of Nowhere, Jo is named Chief Resident in July 2017.
- Out of Nowhere, 1-800-799-7233 and Personal Jesus are direct continuations of each other.
- Harriet Kepner-Avery is 1 year old as of Personal Jesus.
- William George Bailey Jones is 13 years old as of Personal Jesus.
- Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger spans three days, with Catherine's birthday being the last one.
- One Day Like This spans over the day after Caught Somewhere in Time; Owen's trip ends up the morning after in Germany.
- Leo Nelson, Owen's foster child, is six months old, as of Bad Reputation.
- Cold as Ice takes place in May 2018.
- All of Me takes place one month after Cold as Ice.
- Alex and Jo and Matthew Taylor and April got married on Saturday, June 9, 2018.
Grey's Anatomy Season 15[]
- Season 15 starts immediately after the end of Season 14, on June 10, 2018.
- Teddy Altman is eleven weeks pregnant in With a Wonder and a Wild Desire.
- Levi, Dahlia, Vikram, Casey, and Taryn still are in their first year of their surgical residency.
- Andrew is in his third year of his surgical residency.
- Jo has completed her surgical residency and become a Surgical Innovation fellow.
- Nico is in his first year of his orthopedic surgery fellowship.
- Gut Feeling spans one day and starts off about eight days after Broken Together.
- Momma Knows Best is the first part of the Station 19 episode Under the Surface.
- Flowers Grow Out of My Grave takes place on November 1, 2018.
- Anybody Have a Map? spans the better part of one day.
- Catherine is 65 in Anybody Have a Map?.
- Blowin' in the Wind runs in parallel to Station 19's Weather the Storm. It takes place one day after Anybody Have a Map? and about three days after Flowers Grow Out of My Grave.
- As of Shelter from the Storm, Teddy Altman is sixteen weeks pregnant.
- Derek Bailey Shepherd turns 5 in Help, I'm Alive.
- Girlfriend in a Coma goes from December 24, 2018 to February 14, 2019. The short time lapse spans the weeks in between the end of Help, I'm Alive and this episode.
- I Walk the Line takes place roughly four months after Broken Together.
- We Didn't Start the Fire takes place two weeks after I Want a New Drug.
- As of We Didn't Start the Fire, Teddy is seven months pregnant.
- And Dream of Sheep takes place five days after We Didn't Start the Fire.
- Add It Up takes place on March 27, 2019.
- The Pittsburgh part of Silent All These Years takes place on March 27, 2019 as well, in parallel to Add It Up, while the hospital part of the episode takes place on March 28, 2019.
- What I Did for Love takes place on May 3, 2019.
- What I Did for Love runs in parallel to Station 19's Always Ready.
- Drawn to the Blood takes place thirteen days after Head Over High Heels.
Grey's Anatomy Season 16[]
- Nothing Left to Cling To starts out directly after Jump Into the Fog and spans five weeks.
- Back in the Saddle takes place in September 2019.
- As of Back in the Saddle, Dahlia Qadri, Taryn Helm, Casey Parker and Levi Schmitt are in their second year of their residency.
- Pacific Northwest General Hospital transfer Mabel Tseng is also in her second year of residency.
- Doug Miller is in his first year of residency.
- Jo is now in her first year as an attending in general surgery.
- Andrew is in his fifth year of his residency, as well as the chief resident.
- Blake and Hannah are also in their fifth year of their residency.
- Reunited takes place on October 2, 2019.
- Whistlin' Past the Graveyard takes place on Halloween, thus October 31, 2019.
- My Shot takes place three months after Back in the Saddle, as it is Meredith's hearing.
- Let's All Go to the Bar takes place the Monday after My Shot.
- Casey Parker is 27 as of Help Me Through the Night.
- Sing It Again takes place forty-eight hours after the events of Love of My Life.
- Richard is 65 in Sing It Again.
- Scout Derek Shepherd Lincoln was born around March 2020.
Grey's Anatomy Season 17[]
- All Tomorrow's Parties and The Center Won't Hold's present storylines take place in April 2020.
- Andrew DeLuca is in his first year as an attending.
- Zander Perez is in his second year of his residency.
- Levi Schmitt, Taryn Helm, and Mabel Tseng are on their third year of their residency.
- Sara Ortiz, Reza Khan, James Chee, and Alma Ortiz are in their first year of their internship. They started before July 1, 2020.
- My Happy Ending takes place four days after Meredith's collapse, in The Center Won't Hold.
- You'll Never Walk Alone takes place in early May 2020, as Jo mentions the murder hornets' arrival in the United States.
- Fight the Power takes place two days after the events of You'll Never Walk Alone and spans over one single day.
- The events of Fight the Power, No Time for Despair, and Helplessly Hoping takes place during the same week.
- Elena Bailey died at 84, in May 2020.
- No Time for Despair begins just after Station 19's Out of Control and the day after Fight the Power.
- In No Time for Despair, Meredith woke up after eight days in a COVID sleep, since My Happy Ending.
- Helplessly Hoping is a direct continuation of Station 19's Train in Vain.
- Andrew died in May 2020.
- Sign O' the Times takes place in late May, 2020.
- Harriet Kepner-Avery is 3 and a half in Look Up Child.
- Tradition takes place in June 21, 2020 and spans over one single day.
- I'm Still Standing spans over six weeks, which means it ends in somewhere in mid-August 2020.
- Someone Saved My Life Tonight spans over eight months, from August 2020 to April 2021.
- Owen proposes to Teddy on Christmas morning, thus December 25, 2020.
- The staff of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital got their COVID-19 vaccines' first dose in January 2021.
- Jo adopts Luna in April 2021.
- Maggie and Winston got married in April 2021.
Grey's Anatomy Season 18[]
- Although Jo Wilson is technically in her first year as an OB/GYN resident, she is a second year-level resident as she received special dispensation to skip the first year due to already having completed the intern year when she was a surgical resident.[21]
- Although Zander Perez is in his third year of his residency, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented his surgical education as he is technically behind a year as of Some Kind of Tomorrow.
- Although Levi Schmitt, Taryn Helm, and Mabel Tseng are on their fourth year of their residency, COVID-19 pandemic prevented their surgical education as they are technically behind a year as of Some Kind of Tomorrow.
- Although Sara Ortiz, Reza Khan[22], James Chee, and Alma Ortiz are in their second year of their residency, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented their surgical education as they are technically behind a year as of Some Kind of Tomorrow.
- Addison Forbes Montgomery returns to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital after more than ten years as a visiting surgeon due to one of her clinical trial patients having their support system in Seattle in Hotter Than Hell.
- Stronger Than Hate spans one evening and takes place three weeks after I'll Cover You.
- Out for Blood takes place about 30 days after Nick has moved to Seattle, which happened shortly before I'll Cover You.
- You Are the Blood is a direct continuation of Out for Blood, all taking place within a day.
Grey's Anatomy Season 19[]
- Everything Has Changed takes place six months after You Are the Blood. It takes place on the first day of a new residency year at Grey Sloan; however, it starts out several months later than the usual residency year. Simone Griffith, Benson Kwan, Lucas Adams, Jules Millin and Mika Yasuda start out as intern.
- Levi re-joins the program and is appointed Chief Resident (as the only senior resident), but he's still a fourth year resident (probably due to COVID and the residency program shutdown).
- Taryn re-joins the program later and is appointed Co-Chief Resident with Levi, she's still a fourth year resident.
- Jo is technically in her second year as an OB/GYN resident yet at third-year level given the fact that she had already completed her internship during her surgical residency.
- Wasn't Expecting That takes place one week after Everything Has Changed.
- Haunted takes place on Halloween, thus October 31, 2022.
- Thunderstruck is the second part of the Station 19 episode Everybody Says Don't.
- I'll Follow the Sun takes place two weeks after Thunderstruck.
- Love Don't Cost a Thing takes place about a day after All Star and spans one night.
- Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves takes place two days after Love Don't Cost a Thing and spans the better part of one day.
- Pick Yourself Up is a direct continuation of Training Day.
- Pruitt Arike Miller-Warren is four years old as of Gunpowder and Lead.
Grey's Anatomy Season 20[]
- We've Only Just Begun picks up immediately where Happily Ever After? left off.
- Keep the Family Close takes place one week after We've Only Just Begun.
- She Used to Be Mine takes place 51 days after Keep the Family Close.
- Blood, Sweat and Tears takes place five days after She Used to Be Mine.
Grey's Anatomy Season 21[]
- If Walls Could Talk picks up about one week after Burn It Down. It spans one day.
- Take Me to Church spans one day and takes place shortly after If Walls Could Talk.
- This One's for the Girls establishes that eight months have passed since Everything Has Changed and that there are four months left on the interns' intern year.
- If You Leave is a direct continuation of Night Moves.
- Mika Yasuda is 27 years old as of If You Leave.
- Drop It Like It's Hot takes place six weeks after If You Leave.
Private Practice Season 1[]
- Runs in parallel with Grey's Anatomy Season 4.
- Violet reveals that she has fantasies of Bill Clinton leaving his wife for her in 2010.
Private Practice Season 2[]
- Runs in parallel with Grey's Anatomy Season 5.
- Betsey Parker is 6 years old in Season 2, and Dell claims she was conceived when he was 17, making Dell about 23 or 24 years old.
- The Grey's Anatomy episode Beat Your Heart Out runs in parallel with the Private Practice episode Acceptance.
- Beat Your Heart Out/Acceptance, Before and After, Ex-Life and An Honest Mistake, respectively, are direct continuations of each other.
- Finishing takes place over 3 months.
Private Practice Season 3[]
- A Death in the Family takes place minutes after Season 2's finale.
- The Way We Were takes place a month after A Death in the Family.
- Runs in parallel with Grey's Anatomy Season 6.
- Another Second Chance is the second part of Grey's Anatomy's Blink.
- Right Here, Right Now is the second part of Grey's Anatomy's Invasion.
- Fear of Flying to Eyes Wide Open are over a course of two months. (As mentioned in Second Choices)
- Heather Parker died in 2009.
- Dell Parker died in 2010.
Private Practice Season 4[]
- In Take Two, Amelia Shepherd mentions Derek getting shot.
- The season runs parallel to Grey's Anatomy season 7.
- Short Cuts takes place before Grey's Anatomy's Superfreak.
- Playing God takes place on October 5, 2010, as seen on Charlotte's phone.
- All in the Family takes place a couple of days before and on Halloween, thus October 31, 2010.
- The Grey's Anatomy episode Song Beneath the Song runs parallel to The Hardest Part.
Private Practice Season 5[]
- Runs parallel to Grey's Anatomy Season 8.
- God Laughs takes place minutes after ...To Change the Things I Can.
- Breaking the Rules takes place one month after God Laughs.
- Who We Are takes place 12 days after Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough and spans roughly two days.
- The Breaking Point spans 50 days.
- Too Much takes place on February 7, 2012.
- Grey's Anatomy episode Have You Seen Me Lately? is part one of You Break My Heart.
- Andromeda takes place about 5 months after Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough/Who We Are, as Amelia is about 20 weeks pregnant with Ryan's baby.
- It Was Inevitable takes place about a week after The Letting Go.
- And Then There Was One has a time jump of 5 weeks. At the beginning of the episode, Amelia is six months pregnant, thus well over seven months pregnant by the episode's end.[23]
Private Practice Season 6[]
- Addison receives Derek's message about Mark Sloan's death in Mourning Sickness, meaning it runs parallel with Going, Going, Gone.
- The World According to Jake spans 2 weeks and a couple of days, and the beginning of the episode takes place 4 weeks after You Don't Know What You've Got Till It's Gone.
- Vivian Carlsmith died in 2013 at age 74 in Apron Strings.
- Apron Strings takes place over 8 months.
- Life Support spans at least 18 weeks of Charlotte's pregnancy, as marked by the fruits and vegetables indicating 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks, 18 weeks, 19 weeks, 20 weeks, 22 weeks, 24 weeks, and 26 weeks.
- Georgia on My Mind spans at least 7 weeks of Charlotte's pregnancy,
Station 19 Season 1[]
- Runs parallel to Grey's Anatomy season 14.
- Invisible to Me and Contain the Flame are direct continuations of each other.
- Stronger Together takes place several weeks after Invisible to Me.
Station 19 Season 2[]
- Season 2 starts immediately after the end of Season 1.
- Under the Surface is the second part of Grey's Anatomy's Momma Knows Best.
- Do a Little Harm... takes place about a day after Grey's Anatomy's Flowers Grow Out of My Grave. It spans the better part of a day and features flashbacks to 15 years ago, which would be 2003 according to established dates in Grey's Anatomy's fifteenth season.
- Weather the Storm runs in parallel to Grey's Anatomy's Blowin' in the Wind.
- Crash and Burn takes place immediately after Weather the Storm and then jumps four months after.
- I Fought the Law spans one day and starts not too long after the time jump at the end of Crash and Burn.
- Always Ready takes place on May 3, 2019.
- For Whom the Bell Tolls follows shortly after and spans several days in early May. The funeral is said to take place on Friday, which would logically mean it takes place on May 10, 2019.
Station 19 Season 3[]
- Season 3 starts with a big time jump so it runs in parallel with the current Grey's Anatomy timeline. Flashbacks will fill in some of the gaps.
- I Know This Bar is the first part of Grey's Anatomy's Help Me Through the Night. It features flashbacks to two weeks before when the station threw a celebration for Bailey's pregnancy.
- Eulogy starts off where Indoor Fireworks ends. The funeral takes place an unspecified number of days after Ryan's death, while Andy returns to work after about one week.
- House Where Nobody Lives spans one day in the present. It features several flashbacks to Jack's childhood, all taking place in June 2002.
- Ryan Tanner died in 2020 in Eulogy.
- Into the Woods spans about two days during a weekend. It also features flashbacks to Maya's youth in 2006.
- Ice Ice Baby spans one night. It features flashbacks to Travis's wedding in 2012. The episode features the same blizzard as shown in Grey's Anatomy's Snowblind.
- Satellite of Love spans the better part of one day, starting off the morning before the team's next 24-hour shift.
- Born to Run is a direction continuation of Satellite of Love, spanning the few hours at the end of A-shift's 24-hour shift and the morning that follows it. It also features flashbacks to one night in Dean's life in March 2009.
- Something About What Happens When We Talk spans the better part of one day.
- No Days Off spans a couple of hours.
- Pruitt Herrera died in 2020.
Station 19 Season 4[]
- Season 4 runs in parallel with Grey's Anatomy season 17.
- Nothing Seems the Same takes place three weeks after Louder Than a Bomb.
- Nothing Seems the Same takes place in April 2020.
- Out of Control takes place the day after Grey's Anatomy's Fight the Power.
- Learning to Fly takes place two days after the events of Grey's Anatomy's Helplessly Hoping.
- Make No Mistake, He's Mine spans the better of one day.
- No One is Alone picks up immediately where Make No Mistake, He's Mine left off and then jumps ahead three days.
- Here It Comes Again takes place on May 25, 2020.
- Get Up, Stand Up spans about 24 hours.
- I Guess I'm Floating spans about 12 hours. The flashbacks about Ben take place on May 24, 2020 while Dean's flashbacks take place at an unspecified date yet somewhere around the same time.
- Comfortably Numb spans the better part of one day.
- Say Her Name spans the better part of a 24-hour shift and takes place a couple of days (at least two) after Comfortably Numb.
- Forever and Ever, Amen takes place six weeks after Comfortably Numb. The majority of the episodes take place on the day of Maya and Carina's wedding while also featuring flashbacks to two days before.
Station 19 Season 5[]
- Season 5 runs in parallel with Grey's Anatomy season 18.
- Phoenix from the Flame takes place 10 months after Forever and Ever, Amen.
- Flashbacks throughout Phoenix from the Flame pick up immediately after Forever and Ever, Amen.
- Andy Herrera was transferred to SFD Station 23 the Monday after Forever and Ever, Amen and has been at that station for 10 months as of Phoenix from the Flame.
- Things We Lost in the Fire is the first part of Grey's Anatomy's Bottle Up and Explode!. It features Vic and Theo's one-year anniversary, meaning one year has passed since Forever and Ever, Amen.
- Dean Miller died in early November 2021.
- Little Girl Blue takes place on Thanksgiving, thus November 25, 2021.
- A House Is Not a Home takes place one week after Little Girl Blue.
- All I Want for Christmas is You takes place on Christmas, thus December 25, 2021.
- Started from the Bottom takes place three days after All I Want for Christmas is You.
- Victoria Hughes is five weeks pregnant in Searching for the Ghost.
- The Little Things You Do Together takes place a few days after Searching for the Ghost.
- Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire takes place three days after In My Tree.
- Alone in the Dark takes place on April 26, 2022.
- When the Party's Over directly follows the previous episode and takes place primarily on April 27, 2022 according to the label on one of the evidence bags. It ends the morning of April 28, 2022.
- Crawl Out Through the Fallout takes place three weeks after The Road You Didn't Take and it spans one day.
- Andy's trial was set to take place on May 17, 2022 as shown in Death and the Maiden, meaning this episode takes place shortly before said date.
- Carina and Maya have been married for 18 months, meaning 8 months have passed since Phoenix from the Flame.
Station 19 Season 6[]
- Season 6 runs in parallel with Grey's Anatomy season 19.
- Twist and Shout takes place six months after Crawl Out Through the Fallout.
- Carina DeLuca is 38 years old as of Twist and Shout.
- Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey takes place one week after Twist and Shout.
- Dancing With Our Hands Tied spans one day.
- Demons takes place on Halloween, thus October 31, 2022.
- Everybody Says Don't is the first part of Grey's Anatomy's Thunderstruck.
- We Build Then We Break picks up immediately where Everybody Says Don't left off.
- Come As You Are takes place one week after I Know A Place.
- Get It All Out takes place the next day after It's All Gonna Break.
Station 19 Season 7[]
- Season 7 runs in parallel with Grey's Anatomy season 20.
- This Woman's Work picks up immediately where Glamorous Life left off.
- Good Grief takes place one week after This Woman's Work.
- Trouble Man spans 21 hours, of the team's 24-hour shift.
Errors[]
During the initial years of the show, the year set was never formally mentioned, however, as the show progressed, time frames began to be mentioned in the show, leading to continuity errors throughout the series, such as:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 In the beginning of Shake Your Groove Thing, Richard Webber mentioned that Stephanie Drake was treated at Seattle Grace Hospital back in '99 and Preston Burke said he was a CT fellow at the time, however, paperwork revealed on-screen during Cristina's investigation showed that the patient was treated on 10-18-2000.
- ↑ Shake Your Groove Thing is the first episode that mentions a year in dialogue, spoken by Richard Webber regarding a patient being treated in 1999. The cast during the episode mentions that this occurred five years ago, making the current in-universe year as 2004. Although the show premiered in early 2005, the medical education year begins in July, making the 2004 year correct as this episode takes place early in the surgical internship.
- ↑ However, because the following two seasons make up a year, the in-universe year is likely pushed forward to 2007, as it would align later, chronologically, in season 6 and later when each season would encompass the July start year. Mark Sloan also dies in 2012, after Meredith finishes her five-year residency. She also states shortly before his death in the subsequent flashback episode "Remember the Time" that she has known Cristina for 5 years. An even earlier indication of the year the intern year begins happens in the episode "Great Expectations". As Callie flees George's room, she states to Izzie that now she is on "GeorgeWatch 2007", indicating that the year the episode occurs on is 2007. Since seasons 1-3 take place over the course of the whole intern year, and "Great Expectations" is set long after Christmas, we can conclude that the show begins sometime during 2006.
- ↑ This is inconsistent with information stated in Season 2. Jeremiah Tate has been Miranda Bailey's patient for at least five years in Deny, Deny, Deny. When Bailey announces her pregnancy to Webber, she is awaiting responses for her fellowship in Let It Be.
- ↑ In "Let It Be" Miranda announces that she is pregnant, and nine episodes later, she has the baby. So, at least six months must have passed for Miranda to carry the baby to term, or she was already heavily pregnant when the show started (yet she only told others about the pregnancy in season 2). She did inform Richard that she was carrying a boy at the same time as she informed him she was pregnant, indicating that she is at least 18-20 weeks pregnant at that point.
- ↑ The year is later contradicted by Burke winning the 2008 Harper Avery, Izzie saying it was 2009 in Season 5's Now or Never, and later when Mark and Lexie die in 2012, during and shortly after the end of Meredith's five-year residency.
- ↑ This is contradicted by Old Scars, Future Hearts where Alex is visibly older than 14 in the 1994 flashbacks, and Izzie's birthday occurs after Christmas and before Valentine's Day, according to Season 2 and 5.
- ↑ Meredith tells Derek the previous night was Tuesday, meaning the episode takes place on Wednesday. Contrasting this, in a later episode, Ben tells Bailey was playing golf the day of the shooting and he once stated that he plays golf on Tuesdays. However, it's possible that in the time between when he told Bailey he played golf on Tuesdays and the time of the shooting, he changed the day he played golf to Wednesdays.
- ↑ In universe, she has been an attending closer to two years than one, so she was likely downplaying the number to get Richard to talk to Derek.
- ↑ This is obviously wrong, as March 4 is a week before March 11, and not four weeks and two days later.
- ↑ This is obviously wrong as Song Beneath the Song was set in May not March.
- ↑ This date, shown on the surgical monitor, is incorrect, as Teddy mentions in All You Need is Love, which takes place on February 14, that Henry died one month ago.
- ↑ Arizona's cell phone shows the date is April 12, 2012, but this is most likely the date of filming rather than the in-universe time.
- ↑ There is, chronologically, a time jump of 4 months between Thriller and Map of You despite being stated otherwise in the episode's dialogue.
- ↑ Heather Brooks died in mid-to-late June, as she had not taken her intern exam as of yet, which would mean that it has been four months since her death.
- ↑ This is incorrect, as Puttin' on the Ritz takes place before Map of You, which takes place after July 1. Considering that this episode takes place after Thriller and thus October 31st, the time between Puttin' on the Ritz and Man on the Moon is more than 4 months.
- ↑ This is most likely the date of filming rather than the in-universe date, as earlier episodes took place in April.
- ↑ Based on the date on Derek's car console
- ↑ As shown on the hospital monitors
- ↑ This is incorrect as the season should take place in early 2017 as seasons 12 and 13 together span one year, that starts on July 1, 2016.
- ↑ Good as Hell, 17x13
- ↑ With a Little Help From My Friends, 18x04
- ↑ I'll Follow the Sun, 19x07